Adjustable golf club



y 20, 41- Q a. FULLER I I ADJUSTQBLE GOLF CLUB Filed Jan. "28;; 1941 flvenio 7;

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Patented May 20, 1941 UNITED STATES" PATET FlC ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUBGeorge Fuller, Buffalo, N; Y.

Application January 28, 1941, Serial No. 376,321

8 Claims. I (Cl. 273-79) My invention relates in general to golf clubsand in particular to that type of club which has a head rotatablymounted upon a spindle with means for changing the relative positions ofthe head and spindle, whereby the loft or lift of the club may beadjusted to the position suitable for the stroke at hand. This presentinvention relates to the invention shown and described in Patent No.2,217,338 issued to me on October 8, 1940.

The principal object of my invention has been to provide a golf club ofthis nature which shall have the clamping means self-contained andforming an attached part of the structure without requiring the use ofany separate tool.

Another object has been to provide compact stop means for the head of myclub for limiting the relative rotation between the head and thespindle.

Moreover, the locking means of my device are so designed that they willnot be disturbed by the continued use of the club.

Furthermore, my club is light in weight, convenient to adjust, andrelatively inexpensive to manufacture.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the deviceshown in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a back view of my complete club.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is an end view of my device showing the head in a number ofpositions.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the head taken on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view showing details ofthe detent means.

Fig. 6 is an end View of the head with the spindle removed.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on line 7-1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, sectional view of a modified form of structure.

Referring now to the drawing, l5 represents the shaft of my club whichhas a shank l6. At the lower end of the shank there is a shank boss I!extending from which is the spindle l8 of my club. This spindle andshank are preferably integral one with the other so that a very rigidconstruction is brought about. The balance or hang of my club isimproved by locating the spindle l8 slightly behind the shank l6 so thatthe face of the head lies behind the plane of the shank, as clearlyshown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The head of my device is provided with a longitudinally arranged bos 2|which is joined to the lower edge 22 of the head by means of asupporting surface 23. A longitudinal bore 24 is provided through theboss 2| for the reception of the spindle l8. The supporting surface 23is so disposed that it lies substantially parallel with the turf whenthe head is in the niblick position, whereby an extended area ispresented to the turf if needed during the drive.

Extending upwardly from the boss 2| is a flange 25 which is interspacedin relation to the back surface 26 of the head. The locking means of mydevice is arranged within the space between the fiange and the head.This locking means comprises an actuating lever 33 having an upwardlyextending toggle arm 3| and a downwardly ext-ending spindle arm 32. Thespindle arm engages an arcuate slot 33 formed in the spindle l8 wherebywhen the spindle arm is reciprocated as hereinafter described, thespindle and the head will have relative sliding movement for locking andunlocking the head upon the spindle. The spindle arm 32 passes through asuitable aperture 31 formed in the cylindrical boss 2|. The faces 34 and35 at the ends of the arcuate slot form stops for limiting the relativerotation of the head upon the spindle at each end of the predeterminedrotative movement of the head. The actuating lever is pivotally mountedupon a pin 36 which is supported by the flange and the head. Alsomounted within the space between the flange 25 and the head is theoperating lever 40 of my device. This lever is pivotally mounted upon apin 4| carried by the head and the flange and it is provided with alever toggle arm 42. Connecting this lever toggle arm with the togglearm 3| of the actuating lever is a toggle link 43. The operating leveris curve shaped as shown in Fig. 1 and encloses the actuating lever andthe toggle link when in their locked positions, as shown also in thisfigure. A stop surface 44 is provided on the operating lever forengagement with the top surface of the toggle link 43 when the parts arein their locked positions, as shown in Fig. l. A finger ridge 45 isprovided at the extreme end of the operating lever whereby the operatormay easily manipulate the lever to either of its positions. The togglelink 43 is connected at one end to the lever toggle arm 42 by means of apivot 46 and at the opposite end to the toggle arm 3| by means of apivot 41. The pivots 4|, 46 and 41 are so arranged that a toggle actionis produced between the parts.

The link and lever parts are so proportioned that a snap action isproduced when the pivot 46 is moved to either side of a line drawnbetween the axes of the pivots 4| and 41, whereby the operating leverwill be securely held in its closed position. The snap action isproduced be- 1 cause the head will have been drawn up to its I are eachprovided with a reduced portion 63 and 64, respectively, and the ends ofthe toggle link 43 are bifurcated for engagement with said portions. Thelever toggle arm 42 is providedwith a detent surface 65 which contactswith the bottom surfaces of the adjacent end of the toggle link 43 whenthe operating lever is pushed to its upper position, thereby stoppingfurther movement of the lever. Since the operating lever is pusheddownwardly when it is moved to its looking position, centrifugal actionupon the head when the club is in use will aid in maintaining theoperating lever and its associated locking means in looking position.

The head 20 is provided at the end adjacent the shank boss with a flange50 which has its face, like that of the shank boss l1, arranged at rightangles to the axis of the spindle. Each of these faces is provided witha plurality of ridges 5| formed byinterspaced V-shaped grooves Theseridges and grooves are radially ar 52. ranged as shown in Fig. '6 andtherefore coact with one another to rigidly hold the head upon thespindle in its adjusted position. When the parts of the locking meansare in the positions I shown in Fig. 1, the head 20 will be forcedagainst the shank boss I7 and the grooves and interengaged ridges of thetwo coacting surfaces will be held in firm contact with each other. Whenthe parts of the operating means are moved to the dotted-line position,the head will'be moved endwlise upon the .spindle so as to releasetheengagement of the interengaging ridges 5i and grooves 52 and the head.will then be free to rotate upon the spindle.

So as to keep the head in its adjusted position upon the spindle whilethe locking means are moved to the position shown in Fig, l, Iprovide adetent means clearly shown in Fig. 5. The head 14 is provided with adetent boss 53 formed with a bore 54 in which is slidably mounted adetent 55. The detent is provided with a central bore 56 in which ismounted a helical spring 51.

he spring serves to force the detent outwardly and to cause its point 69which is of V-shaped formation into one of the V-shaped spaces 52 formedin the shank boss l1. Not only does this engagement of the detent withthe grooves provide means for temporarily holding the parts in theadjusted position, but it also provides a clicking sound by which theposition of the head upon the spindle may be accurately determined. Inadjusting the head by this manner the head is rotated to either of thestops 34 or at the ends of the arcuate groove 33 and then counting isstarted from either point while moving the head in the oppositedirection. So as to provide visible indication of the relative positionof the head upon the spindle a plurality of lines 6| are provided uponthe shank boss H, each line being preferably identified by means of anumeral, The

head 20 is provided with an index line 62 which extends preferablyacross the boss 53 in registerable position with either of the lines 6|.

In Fig. 8 I show a modified form of structure in which the toggle link65 is preferably of U- shape and made of spring material. This link isconnected at Hi to the lever toggle arm 42 of the operating lever 40 atone end and at its opposite end to the toggle arm H of the actuatinglever 12 at 13. This lever is-provided with a spindle arm 32 similar tothe spindle arm of the other form of device. In this modification, itwill be seen that as the operating lever is moved downwardly to itslocking position the springing action will be produced by the togglelink 66.

Obviously, instead of connecting the operating lever with the actuatinglever by means of toggle linkage, the operating means may if desired beprovided with an eccentric. These and other modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of theappended claims and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exactembodiment herein shown and described, the form shown being merely apreferred embodiment thereof,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means for non-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and spindle in one direction, and leveractuating means carried by said head, said lever means being engageablewith said spindle for moving said head axially thereon and for holdingit in its locked position.

2. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means for non-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and spindle in one direction, and leveractuating means carried by said head and engageable with an arcuate slotformed in said spindle, said lever and slot acting as a stop forlimiting the free rotative movement of said head on said spindle and forlocking said head when moved to its non-rotative position on saidspindle.

3. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means for non-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and'spindle in one direction, and toggleactuating means carried by said head and engageable with said spindlefor moving said head axially thereon and for holding it in its lockedposition.

4. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means for non-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and spindle in one direction, spring'meansfor forcing said head axially on said spindle in the opposite direction,and lever actuating means carried-by said head, said means beingengageable with said spindle for moving said head axially thereon andfor holding it in its locked position.

5. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means fornon-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and spindle in one direction, and actuatingmeans for moving said head on said spindle, comprising an actuatinglever pivotally carried by said head and engageable with said spindle tomove the head axially thereon, an operating lever pivotally mounted: onsaid head, and a toggle link pivotally connecting said actuating andoperating levers.

6. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means for non-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and spindle in one direction, actuatingmeans for moving said head on said spindle, comprising an actuatinglever pivotally carried by said head and formed. with a toggle arm and aspindle arm, said spindle arm being engageable with said spindle, anoperating lever pivotally mounted on said head, and a toggle linkpivotally connecting said operating lever with said toggle arm.

7. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means for non-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and spindle in one direction, toggleactuating means carried by said head and engageable with said spindle tomove said head axially thereon, the parts of said toggle means beingrotatably mounted upon one fixed pivot, an outer movable pivot and aninner movable pivot, said parts being so proportioned that when moved tolocked position said inner pivot is movable beyond a straight-linearrangement of said pivots, and spring means for retaining said toggleparts in their locked positions.

8. A golf club, comprising a shaft, an integral spindle carried by saidshaft, a head rotatably mounted and axially movable upon said spindle,means for non-rotatably locking said head to said spindle upon relativeaxial movement of said head and spindle in one direction, toggleactuating means carried by said head, comprising an actuating leverengageable with said spindle and having a flexible arm, an operatinglever pivotally carried by said head and having a lever toggle arm, anda toggle link connecting said flexible arm with said lever toggle arm.

GEORGE FULLER.

